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Green goddess hummus

2013 February 12

I’ve been sitting on this recipe for a while now, wanting to hold out until Spring, when fresh herbs line every garden center shelf in the tri-state area (and when basil doesn’t look so wilted and utterly defeated at the grocery). But, I had a craving for hummus, and this, by a long stretch, is my favorite variation. It screams green! in both color and flavor, and makes you reach for a spoon rather than the unfortunately limited chip (said limitation being that chips are finite and always fewer in number than the volume of hummus can support).

Making hummus from scratch is a happy project: a leisurely soaking of dried chickpeas, fresh lemon juice, tahini to taste, and whatever mix-in sounds irresistable in the moment, like a handful of fresh, fragrant, grassy herbs — parsley, tarragon, basil, dill, and chives.

True hummus aficionados know that peeling cooked chickpeas — completely crazy in concept, but rather relaxing in practice, much like preparing risotto — produces a smoother, much less grainy result. (Chickpeas have a dull, thick skin that slips right off when pinched.) If you’re fairly new to hummus and peeled chickpeas, I suggest you give it a try the next time you whip up a batch. But do stop if despair creeps in with still half the beans left to peel (life is too short to fret over grainy hummus — whatever the texture, your green goddess hummus will still be delish). Even half is not a wasted effort — you’ll notice the difference.

In case you’re curious, the black chips above are a new product I found at a specialty store: chia chips! Clocking in at 110 calories for 22 chips, the chia chip’s slight bowl shape is the perfect cradle for a bite-sized helping of green goddess hummus.

(And if you’re will-power-challenged like me, the aforementioned self-limiting chip is the more diet sensible delivery vehicle versus a spoon, which could easily plow through the entire cup-and-a-half recipe in a single day.)

Green goddess hummus

Use a variety of herbs to create an evenly layered flavor profile. I use dill, basil, flat-leaf parsley, tarragon, and chives. Feel free to favor your favorite – I use a lot of dill.

If starting with dried chickpeas, remember that you have to soak them overnight.

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried chickpeas (or 1 1/2 cup canned chickpeas)

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons tahini

the juice of one small lemon

extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

reserved soaking water

1 heaping cup fresh herbs, roughly chopped

Instructions:

Place the dried chickpeas in a bowl and cover with water by three times. Cover loosely and soak overnight in a cool spot.

The next day, drain the chickpeas, reserving about 1/2 cup of the soaking water. Rinse, and drain again. Sort through the chickpeas and discard any shriveled or discarded ones.

Optional, but recommended: peel each chickpea and discard the skin. Hold a chickpea with your thumb, forefinger and middle finger, with the pointy end of the chickpea facing outward. Squeeze gently, in a pinching motion; the pea will slip right out of its skin.

Add the chickpeas to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the garlic, and pulse a few more times. Add the tahini and lemon juice. Drizzle olive oil in one ring around the bowl, and add the salt. Process until the chickpeas form a thick, grainy paste. Add the herbs and another ring of olive oil. Process until the herbs are blended with the chickpeas.

The hummus is probably still quite pasty at this point. Continue processing, alternating 1 tablespoon of reserved soaking liquid, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, until the hummus reaches your desired consistency.

I’d be lying if I said I never use canned – sometimes, a hummus craving just can’t wait. But, I always have a mason jar of dried chickpeas on the counter (I like to sprout them for snacks), so it’s no big deal to throw some in a bowl of water the night before. So glad you like the color – in February, in desperate anticipation of spring, I’m all about green.

I hear ya – such a simple dish can turn out strangely pasty for no good reason! I also like to use the chickpea soaking water to thin it out. It keeps the oil to a minimum, but smooths out the hummus nicely.

I am utterly powerless against anything that crunches, and a serious chip addiction has resulted. But on the upswing, I’ve tied LOTS of great chips because a sad old tortilla or potato chip won’t cut it (unless it’s a kettle chip… then hoooo baybeee…. look out)

The peeling of garbanzos, however, is one aspect of them that borders on OCD for me. If there is even one skin in the mix, I start to itch and I want to peel everysingleone of those suckers, and when you make a triple batch of hummus, that’s a dang lot of peeling. There is nothing more fidgety than having garbanzo bean skin on your hands. Gah. Help.

You have a beautiful blog and I love your hummus. I am forever trying out new hummus combinations and it looks like this might need to be next on my list. Lovely photos also, I’ll be back
And thanks for stopping by The Café and your kind words.

Oh my, this looks incredible. I’ve been wanting to try the chickpea-peeling process for hummus, and this looks like a winning recipe. Love the bright green of this dip, and I’m a longtime green-goddess fan. Definitely giving this a try. Love the photos, too. Thanks!